Mahlon, Hooky, Spinning, and the Garmin 605

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
Hey gang,

When I walked my kiddies up to the bus stop this AM, it was so nice I decided to play hooky and take a ride up at Mahlon. It was 42 degrees before 8 AM, so I couldn't resist. This is very much unlike me...guess working from my house is starting to mess with my work ethic. Oh well...

Having my brand spankin' new Garmin 605 in hand, I downloaded a ride the Goat Herder's Horde did last fall (I think). The Garmin has a cool little feature called "Virtual Partner" where you can actually race against the course downloaded. I figured, hey, this particular ride was tagged as a A pace ride and I'm not gonna' be able to keep up, but I can at least see how far I'm off from you yahoos. After all I have been working my ass off in the gym, spin classes, and rides over the winter (when possible).

So, how did it go? The loop is about 12 miles long through MD and the Weldon WMA. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the Virtual Partner 'cause I was pre-occupied with riding (a good thing). With much surprise, and chagrin, at about 8 miles into it my little Garmin started laughing at me 'cause my virtual partner had finished the course. Laughable.

Okay, this wasn't really a surprise. But by doing this I've learned some things this morning:
  • The Garmin 605 if a freakin' cool little tool. If you're learning an area, like I am learning my way around MD, you can download rides folks have done and the little Garmin will display a nice little navigation map to follow.
  • It also helps gauge where you are compared to other yahoos on MTBNJ, without going out and getting dropped in the first mile. So, when so and so says it is an A pace ride, you can run against A pace rides that have been done. Or B pace. Or etc. In other words, it'll help you figure out what group rides you're ready for.
  • My technical climbing SUCKS. Looking at the data from the Goat Herder ride and my own, it is painfully clear that is where I lost a ton of time. Of course, this didn't surprise me either 'cause I found myself walking a bit more than I should. After 13 years off the bike and never really having to deal with rocks in my previous experience (Oregon/Minnesota), this is clearly an area I have to work on.
  • Spinning didn't seem to do sh!t. Okay, maybe that isn't fair. I rode last weekend with a friend that I rode with a bit last fall. He rode sporadically over the winter. I did spend a lot of time waiting for him. I sure don't feel any stronger, though. At best I think the spinning helped keep me from loosing what conditioning I gained last fall when I started riding again. A little disappointing considering the amount of effort I put into it. OTOH, I didn't have a cyclometer or anything on my bike last fall, so maybe I'm just going faster. Oh well, I'm pretty sure it didn't hurt, but there is clearly no substitute for real saddle time.
  • My UGI over the winter was worth it. Love my Formula "The Ones", they work SO much better than the BB7's they replace. The Revelation 426, Monarch 4.2, and 5.5 rockers on the 5-spot are also cool. I don't even have them 100% dialed yet, but I was jammin' on descents though the rocks and barely noticed the rocks. 'Probably the only reason I was past mile 5 before the Virtual Partner started laughing at me.
Despite the pain and frustration it was a good ride. A fabulous way to start the work day :)

Cheers.
Tim
 

NJ-XC-Justin

KY-DH-Freddy
That is a ridiculously cool feature. Is the 605 the minimum version to get it? I'd rather not drop $400 on a GPS but I'd consider it for a feature like that.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
That is a ridiculously cool feature. Is the 605 the minimum version to get it? I'd rather not drop $400 on a GPS but I'd consider it for a feature like that.

Nope - you can even get the Virtual Partner in the podunk 205 unit I have, which you can likely get for something in the realm of $12 (not really) at this point, since it's last year's last year's model, or worse.

If you're referring to the download-able maps and following Sean, you can do that too as I did the same thing with the 205 in MD last year.

Tim - cool story. I think Steve will tell you it's going to take 3+ years to get ready for the rocks. But then again he's a *****. But it does take a while if you're used to smoove-B singletrack.

Greg LeMond once said it never gets any easier, you just get used to it. He's right. You will always hurt the same amount but you'll be faster. YMMV.
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
How much does the optional mapping software cost for the 605/705? And are the topo maps extra on top of the street maps?
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
my virtual partner refuses to show up. i literally cannot locate him anywhere on my 305. fawking guy is even more ***** than steve. or norm for that matter.

good story though. :D
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
How much does the optional mapping software cost for the 605/705? And are the topo maps extra on top of the street maps?

Never mind I found the answer.

$140 for the street maps of North America and another $116 for topo maps which only includes National Parks in the Eastern part of the US. Same price for the western National Parks. I don't know about you, but I don't find myself biking in too many national parks.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
That story sucks, Jake. Where's the intrigue? No character nor plot development. And no sex. Lame!!!!
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
That is a ridiculously cool feature. Is the 605 the minimum version to get it? I'd rather not drop $400 on a GPS but I'd consider it for a feature like that.

Depends on which feature; the virtual partner or the graphic navigation display to follow a course you've downloaded.

Norm has answered the virtual partner question. For the graphic navigation, the 605 & 705 are the only edges w/those.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
You can follow a course with the 205. I've pulled Sean's courses from the MB website and followed them before.
 

walter

Fourth Party
You can follow a course with the 205. I've pulled Sean's courses from the MB website and followed them before.

I think Danspank has figured it out several times as well. Maybe not. I never tried to use it, I just like the motionbased data keeper.
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
Tim - cool story. I think Steve will tell you it's going to take 3+ years to get ready for the rocks. But then again he's a *****. But it does take a while if you're used to smoove-B singletrack.

Gah! I'm gonna' be a rock hound by the time Sean's Mallamuchy ride hits in May, damnit! :getsome:

Riding where I grew up in Oregon had different skills required to climb, for sure. Sand, loose cinder rock, pumice...there are rocks, for sure, but most of 'em are large and mostly buried (big cinder rocks have great traction, BTW). Not a lot of trails in Central Oregon completely covered with 8-10 inch diameter rock beds or four inches of leaves like here. Plus some of the climbs go on forever (Cascade Mountains). Once you mastered the traction game in the loose stuff, it was just a matter of conditioning...picking a good line was pretty straight forward. Here it is certainly different...

And in Minnesota there wasn't much climbing to do, really...
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
Never mind I found the answer.

$140 for the street maps of North America and another $116 for topo maps which only includes National Parks in the Eastern part of the US. Same price for the western National Parks. I don't know about you, but I don't find myself biking in too many national parks.


You can get the micro SD card street maps from PCNation for $107 w/free shipping.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
VP works on the 205, and mine is an even bigger p*ssy than me. however, mine doesn't laugh when it drops me at mile marker 5.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
which ones? how were they(flow, terrain, etc)?

I believe I did the ride you took ChrisG on, which was a great course until my GPS lost signal. I don't remember if I did another or not. I rode there a few times solo last year so I'm thinking maybe I did. But both my PC and GPS with my routes from last year have since died.
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
which ones? how were they(flow, terrain, etc)?

I just took a few Mahlon virgins on your Xmas eve 2006 route the other day. They had been brainwashed into thinking that MD was all fireroads... They were all smiles at the end.
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
I just took a few Mahlon virgins on your Xmas eve 2006 route the other day. They had been brainwashed into thinking that MD was all fireroads... They were all smiles at the end.

I haven't ridden anywhere else in NJ since my biking resurrection last fall. I would assume, though, that the trails at Mahlon (i.e. not the rail bed etc.) are a pretty good training area for whatever North Jersey has to throw at a mountain bike. I mean, damn, it almost seems like the rocks and other obstacles never end and the worst sh!t is always when you're climbing. And it seems like you're always climbing...

And to think I lived a little over a mile away from MD for over 6 years before I rode there...stupid back.
 

walter

Fourth Party
I haven't ridden anywhere else in NJ since my biking resurrection last fall. I would assume, though, that the trails at Mahlon (i.e. not the rail bed etc.) are a pretty good training area for whatever North Jersey has to throw at a mountain bike. I mean, damn, it almost seems like the rocks and other obstacles never end and the worst sh!t is always when you're climbing. And it seems like you're always climbing...

And to think I lived a little over a mile away from MD for over 6 years before I rode there...stupid back.

Tim, I rode Mahlon last summer for the first time. I'm down here and ride Allaire, Hartshorne, 6 Mile and occasionally Chimney Rock. I think we ended up doing about 12 miles with the crew we had(myself, jake, shaggz, norm, sparta brad, I think molasses was there for a bit) anyway, that entire ride home, I couldnt get the grin off my face. Sure I was slow and sucky riding the rocks and all, but it was a damn good ride with some great guys.

Good stuff you guys got up there, when I am better to ride, I will happily join you for some suffering and cursing.
 
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